Veteran speaks out about problems with Choice Program

By Erin Stone estone@mrt.com

Published 6:00 am, Sunday, October 4, 2015

From the time she was 11, Teresa Asante knew she would join the Army. She always looked up to her father. When she saw him in his Dress Blues, she felt pride and a determination to follow in his footsteps. In 1983, she joined the Army.

“Without telling anyone, even my husband, I joined the Army and went off to boot camp a month later and knew that I’d be in it for life,” Asante said.

She joined after having two daughters and losing faith in a marriage with a husband who she said liked to drink. Though she missed her young girls, she left them in her parents’ care and went to boot camp, determined to be able to take care of them on her own when she got out.

“My goal was to be the first female command sergeant major of the Army. I was a good soldier. I was raised by a soldier so the discipline was already there, the drive, knowing that I was doing it for the right reasons. I loved the Army and I loved being in it.”

While Asante’s love for serving in the Army has never waned, one fateful day in September of 1988 changed her life irrevocably.

“We were training at Fort Huachuca (in Arizona) on a mission that would eventually take us to Saudi Arabia,” Asante said. “There were three units out on this training site. They hauled us in what they called cattle trucks. Big, massive 18-wheeler trucks, all steel inside, rows and rows of seats. The guy who was driving the first truck thought he saw a deer so he slammed on his breaks and our driver never slowed down. Buckled our truck in three places. There were deaths, amputations. I was one of the lucky ones. A lot of people, their lives were changed that day.”

Asante had initially refused to let her unit on the truck because she knew two of the drivers had been drinking -- she could smell the alcohol -- and later found out that one had been smoking pot. However, she soon realized that no matter what she said, her unit was getting on that truck that day.

When the crash happened, Asante was knocked out cold.

“I don’t really remember a lot of it,” Asante said, looking down at her hands. “These trucks, they’re wood floors. On impact, I was thrown with my weapon in the lead and the bayonet stuck in the wood floor and I was thrown on top of it. It did a lot of damage to my uterus and we later found out other things were involved. First, they did an emergency hysterectomy and repaired some small tears. I seemed to be OK body-wise for the most part until a few months later, my insides started comin’ apart.”

Fifty-nine surgeries later, Asante’s health issues have only gotten worse. When Asante learned of the Choice Program, however, she immediately became an advocate for it, seeing the value in a program that would allow veterans to see health care providers outside of the VA, especially since she needs specialized doctors.

To be eligible, veterans must have enrolled in VA health care benefits on or before Aug. 1, 2014, unable to schedule an appointment with a VA provider within 30 days, and/or live more than 40 miles away from a VA medical facility.

The Choice Program was enacted in fall of 2014, giving veterans expanded access to private providers, all paid for through Tri-West and the VA. If an eligible veteran contacts Tri-West, the management company must make an appointment within five days and the appointment must occur within 30 days. At least on paper, this is how it’s supposed to work.

Asante has not experienced this so far and she believes Tri-West, which had formerly managed Tri-Care, has had enough time to work out the kinks.

In early September, Asante learned that she would need more surgery on her bladder as well as rectal prolapse surgery. She has two doctors at the Dallas VA who were able to set up these surgeries under the Choice Program. However, she has to travel six hours multiple times a month for care.

“I got the appointments with the urologist and the surgeon at (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) within a week of my doctors in Dallas putting in the consults,” Asante said. “There is no reason why we should not have that same level (of responsiveness in Midland-Odessa). The VA in Big Spring and my primary are simply not doing their part.”

As of Tuesday of last week, Asante had been waiting four weeks to receive a consult to see a doctor about the results of her thoracic outlet syndrome. She has also been waiting more than three months for a consult from her primary doctor at the VA for an allergist. She has had three episodes of anaphylactic shock where she almost died. To this day, her doctors have not found out what caused these near-death episodes.

This has caused so much frustration that Asante has considered moving. But she knows she can’t do that either because her grandchildren are here. Sept. 9 was Asante’s birthday and her daughters wanted to take her out to lunch. “I just don’t feel well,” she wrote over a text. “Been in bed for 2 days.”

The physical symptoms of Asante’s injury leave her where she cannot leave her Odessa apartment for days at a time. The physical pain also keeps her from getting out of bed sometimes. The mental and emotional impact is something she fights with daily.

“No veteran, nobody for that matter, should have to work so hard for a doctors appointment,” Asante said. “Just to make sure we’re OK, y’know? And I feel like since I’ve been here (she moved back to Odessa in 2005), I’ve worked constantly to get a doctor to give a s***. And I’m sorry for my language, but I really, really have. Ever since I’ve been here, it’s been an issue.”

Asante said she thinks a part of the lack of responsiveness is because the VA is stretched thin. Though the Veterans Health Administration has expanded access to care -- completing more than 46 million appointments between May 1, 2014 and Feb. 28, 2015, with the Choice Program adding additional flexibility to that access, according to the VA’s official blog -- a $1.4 billion reduction in VA funding for 2016, passed by House Republicans in June, could hurt this progress.

With that cut, an estimated 70,000 fewer veterans will receive the VA care they need, according to the VA’s blog.

“With respect to the Choice Program right now, I’m having my issues with that there’s a lack of training,” Asante said. “You can call three or four different times in a 20- or 30-minute time span and the answer you get is gonna be different every single time. I’ve tested it and I’ve done that.”

It required multiple calls for Asante to even learn that she needed a consult from her primary to move forward. What it comes down to is streamlining the process, Asante said.

“I really think it would work if there’s more education, some kind of consistency across the board where everybody who answers the phone has some basic knowledge of how the program works. Not, ‘Well I’m gonna get all your information and put you in the computer.’ Or they say, ‘Well I’ll escalate it to another department.’ And I was told that three times, that they’re gonna escalate it.”

Asante has gotten discouraged. “I feel like I’m doing all the right things and I’m being pushed back,” Asante said. “Some good things have come out of it, several veterans have gotten their issues taken care of.”

Despite the drawbacks, Asante’s determination continues. “I still have hope,” she said. “But it does get discouraging. I try not to let it because if that’s the worst thing going on in my life then I’m a lot luckier than a lot of people out there.”

This program will not work without the local physicians and health care professionals doing their part, Asante said. It’s clear she’s experienced this first-hand, now having to travel all the way to Dallas for two surgeries.

“I’m trying. And I’m not doing it just for myself. I have family that are veterans, friends that are veterans. Especially in the Midland-Odessa area, you see a lot of retired licensed plates. They proudly have their stickers on their cars that denotes where they’ve been in service. And people I just say hi to, it matters to them.”

To get started, you’ll need to pick a health care provider, gather some information and give us a call in order to set up an appointment. We will work with you to ensure you are approved for care in your community and schedule you with a local care provider of your choice.

1 Step 1: Check if you are eligible.

2 Step 2: Explore which doctors are participating in your area.

3 Step 3: Make sure you have information on hand about any other health insurance coverage you may have.

4 Step 4: Call 1-866-606-8198 to make sure you qualify and to schedule an appointment. When you call, we will:

- Ask for your ZIP code.

- Ask for your address.

- Check to make sure you are eligible for this program.

- Check which of your needs are covered by the VA.

- Ask for your preferred community provider. Unfortunately, not all providers will be eligible to participate so if your preferred provider is not available, we will recommend other providers in your area.